A bubble team if there ever was one, NC State made it into the 2026 NCAA Tournament field, no doubt sliding in as one of the last teams in the field. Whether or not it will be stated as a factor, Elliott Avent’s retirement surely had a role in the Wolfpack making it in.
For the second straight season, NC State will head to Auburn for Regional play. This year, the Pack are the 3-seed and will face off with 2-seed UCF to open play.
Auburn is the #4 national seed as the Tigers played the #1 ranked strength of schedule in the country this year, going 38-19 overall and 17-13 in SEC play. The Tigers made the SEC Tournament semifinals, losing to Arkansas in a 2-1 game. They went a combined 26-19 in Q1 and Q2 games.
Advertisement
UCF is the 2-seed in the Auburn Regional, a 31-21 squad out of the Big 12 with a 19-11 conference mark. The Knights went a combined 15-14 in Q1 and Q2 games. They lost their Big 12 Tournament opener to Oklahoma State.
Milwaukee won the Horizon League Tournament title in dramatic fashion, on a walk-off 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat perennial Horizon League juggernaut Wright State. The Panthers went 25-31 on the year with a 14-10 conference record and a 1-13 combined Q1 and Q2 record.
